AGE OF REASON

 Thomas Hobbes
» In his Leviathan, he supported Absolutism
» It was necessary to have a powerful government to check and restrain greed as
well as fears of people.
» Societies were formed by social contracts where people agreed to surrender
their individual powers to the government, which protect them from each other.

» Proposed all-powerful government, controlling all aspects from military,

economic and social power.

 John Locke (1632-1704)

» His Two Treatises of Civil Government became a pillar in liberal political
tradition
» He believed that it was not nature that determined what man would become but
rather how he was raised and the experiences that he would live through
(Tabula Rasa or Blank Slate)
» The social environment was an important variable in influencing human beings
to act towards creating a better world.
» Human beings natural rights to life, liberty and property
» Government created by the consent of people should protect rights of people.
» Should the government renege on its original purpose, people would have
“ultimate right to revolution” and establish a new one.
» Liberalism that promoted representative government, freedom of expression and
worship, abolition of class privileges and use of resources of state for protection
and welfare of individual.
» Free society must uphold private property
» Freedom of expression allow variety of views that would enable a society
combine insights towards making institutions and lives of its people better.

 Philosophes
» Philosophers who provided critique of 18th century society attacking flaws of
traditional institutions and challenging conventional ideas.
» The wanted to “enlighten” the rulers of the time to govern a more justly and
more humanely and to use their immense powers to help better the lives of their
people Reformers who wanted to effect change through their progressive and
radical ideas.
» Used printing press effectively in publishing their works to disseminate their
ideas to different sectors of society.
» Salons provided them a forum where they presented their ideas for discussion
and debate.
 » Social gatherings of the elite held in luxurious drawing rooms reading latest
publications elicited stimulated discussions.

 Age of Reason (18th Century)

» The period was called Age of Reason primarily because of the emphasis that
political thinkers placed on the primacy of reason in understanding the world in
which they lived and in formulating solutions to their problems.
» The political theories that they developed were a powerful force that fueled the
ideals of liberalism and constitutional governments.
» They continued to be an inspiration to the continuing evolution of modern
political institutions.

 Baron Charles de Montesquieu

» In 1748, he published The Spirit of the Laws that purported the powers of
government resided in 3 separate and independent bodies (Executive,
Legislative and Judicial powers)
» Executive power was in the hands of head of state, be it prime minister or
president Legislative was in the hands of an elected assembly.
» Judicial power resided in courts.
» A system of check and balance and prevented abuse of power by any branch
» To this day the principle of separation of powers continues to be upheld by
governments

 Jean Jacques Rousseau

» In his “The Social Contract”, the ideal state must be governed by the general
will of the people.
» General will was the common good or general welfare of all
» Surrender individual interests in the name of what would be beneficial for all
» People were capable of rational thought and in position to know and uphold
what was good for all
» This was a far-cry from the traditional view that only the king knew what was
good for his subjects and had the right to rule accordingly.

 Voltaire (Francois Marie Arouet)

» Leader and symbol of intellectual rebellion against traditional ideas and
institutions.
» “Intellectual Father of French Revolution”
» Ardent advocate of tolerance and civil liberties.
 » 1st Principle of Civil Liberty: “I do not agree with a word you say but will defend
to the death your right to say it.”
» Rejected superstition and privilege
» Fight against all forms of intolerance especially religious bigotry
» Humanist who was committed to making the world a better place by applying
man’s capacity to use reason to harness resources of nature.
» His most important work Candide.
∞ The story revolved around Candide who was an innocent young man who
through various experiences and encounters with all sorts of characters,
began to learn about the wickedness of the world.
» He would eventually find a respite (relief) from all his misfortune in a land
called “El Dorado” but in the end would choose to venture once more into the
real world to face many trials.
» In an imperfect world, it would be best to just do the work that needed to be
done and not dwell on theories no matter how enticing they may be.

 Denis Diderot and Jean d’ Alembert

» The editors of the French Encyclopedia, a compilation of works of prominent
philosophes and intellectuals
» 24 volumes and featured articles written by Voltaire and Montesquieu
» Had hoped to help combat superstition and change the way people think and
act.
» Reprinted several times due to great popularity
» Important means by which thoughts and ideas of philosophes spread
throughout Europe.

 Adam Smith (1723-1790)

» In his Wealth of Nations, he explained the concept “Laissez-faire” economics.
» Prosperity could be best achieved by simply allowing individuals to pursue their
interests without the interference of the state through its state-owned
companies or laws.
» Forwarded the idea of “the invisible hand” of competitive and free-market forces
that would provide the necessary balance to competing individual interests and
allow for the equitable distribution of wealth.
» Used by private capitalists to amass so much wealth at the cost of the
exploitation of the poor.

 Frederick the Great (II), King of Prussia

» Wanted to project himself as an enlightened ruler.
» He was successful in implementing significant reforms in his royal estates
where he abolished capital punishment and limited forced labour services of his
peasants.
 » He also granted them longer leases on the lands that they tilled giving them
greater security.
» He also encouraged cultivation of new crops like potato.
» Tried to alleviate sufferings caused by the Seven Years War to the peasants by
distributing seeds and tools to help them make a fresh start, increased land
areas that could be cultivated.
» He pushed for the rule of law by simplifying the laws and administering justice
quickly and fairly.
» He stopped the practice of bribing judges in an attempt to promote genuine
justice.
» Prussian civil service was the most efficient and honest in Europe at that time
as a result of close supervision Frederick imposed on the entire bureaucracy
through system of inspection.
» Enhanced the capability of state to provide the needs of the people.

 Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia

» Enlightened ruler maintaining close correspondence with some of the most
prominent French philosophes.
» An ardent patron of Voltaire and Diderot.
» Her social reforms were very limited
» A number of hospitals and orphanages, support for the liberation of serfs,
limited toleration of various religions and a curbing of the use of torture by the
government
» Resolved to further strengthen absolutism to restore and maintain order in her
empire after the Peasant Revolt in 1773 to 1774.

 Maria Theresa (1740-1780) and Joseph II (1765-1790)

» She managed to keep Austria even if she lost Silesia to Frederick the Great.
» In ruling over the Hapsburg dominion, both worked earnestly toward instituting
important social reforms that earned the reputation of being enlightened
monarchs.
» “Mother of her people” and “the peasants’ emperor”
» Imposed taxes on aristocrats used in modernization of army.
» Imposed taxes on Church and confiscated some of its lands
» Reduced tax burden of peasants and limited labour on them
» Recruited middle-class professionals to serve in bureaucracy rather than using
nobles
» Toleration on Protestants, lifted taxes on Jews
» Edict on Idle Institutions in 1780
» Abolished serfdom but nullified after his death

 Nicolaus Copernicus
 » His Heliocentric theory asserted the Sun, and not the Earth, is in the centre of
the universe.
» Made public in his book “On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Bodies” published
in 1543.
» His work spawned other important scientific discoveries.
 Johannes Kepler
» Drawing from years of empirical observation and mathematical calculations,
developed the three laws of planetary motion.
∞ 1st Law states that the orbit of each planet is an ellipse with the sun at one
of the foci.
∞ 2nd Law states that the radius vector of each planet sweeps out equal areas
in equal times.
∞ 3rd Law states that the squares of the periods of the planets are proportional
to the cubes of their mean distances from the Sun.

 Galileo Galilei
» Trailblazer in both Physics and Astronomy
» Law of Pendulum and first hydrostatic balance that determined the density of
an object by weighing it in water
» Law of Falling Bodies
∞ all had the same, constant acceleration and body moving on a smooth
horizontal surface would neither speed up nor slow down.
» First to develop astronomical telescope, he saw rings of Saturn and deep craters
of the moon.

 Isaac Newton
» His greatest work was the formulation of the Law of Universal Gravitation which
states that “every particle of matter in the universe attracts every other particle
with a force whose direction is that of the joining of the two, and whose
magnitude is directly as proportional to the product of the masses, and
inversely as proportional to the square of their distance from each other”
» Mathematical Principle of Natural Philosophy or Principia
» Law of Gravity that confirmed other theories developed by other scientists
pertaining to astronomy and physics.
» Laws of Motion and Calculus
» Using Glass Prism he discovered that white light is composed of all colours of
the rainbow.

 Andreas Vesalius
» First to present accurate study of human body that he published in his book
“On the Structure of the Human Body”
 William Harvey
» Described how the heart and the circulatory system functioned.
 Robert Boyle
» A Chemist who Developed law of gases.
 » The volume of a given mass of gas at a constant temperature is inversely
proportional to its pressure.
 Anton van Leeuwenhoek
» Dutch scientist who pioneered microscopic research
» Using special lenses, he was able to see single red blood cells, sperm and
bacteria.
 Sir Francis Bacon
» Philosopher of Scientific Method
» Advocated that true knowledge must be acquired through empiricism or
knowledge derived from sense experience, entailing direct observation of the
world.
» Novum Organum (New Organon or method of scientific inquiry)
» Forwarded advantages of inductive method.

 Rene Descartes
» Best remembered for his maxim “cogito ergo sum” (I think, therefore I am)
» Man’s capacity to think defines his nature as human being.
» His work Discourse on Method stressed the importance of rational analysis in
determining all knowledge.
» Universe operated on mathematical laws that established its orderly system.
» Reason and logic could unlock secrets of Universe